RE: the pros and cons of compressed schedules. I agree that in normal circumstances, the students might not have time for the greater hours/day of a compressed schedule. However, with many activities being cancelled, students might have many more free hours. I can foresee that their actual time at campus will become more narrowly focused on academics - non-academic activities will be done when they return home or whatever.
But having only academics to focus on doesn’t mean it’s any better of an idea imo- it’ll just lead to burnout for those kids not naturally inclined to that schedule. My D’s school hasn’t mentioned the possibility, and I don’t know how she’d react to it, but I’ve taken some of my lab sciences over compressed summer schedules, and just being in one class for 4-6 hours a day was not great for. Me- not I. Terms of grades, I did fine, but in terms of a mental drain. Those summers wore me out in a way regular semesters never did.
What they could do is build temporary modular housing for the quarantined. In fact, if the Claremonts and NESCAC are serious about re-opening in the Fall, many of them should be negotiating right now for contracts.
Alot of colleges are looking to rent the now empty nearby hotels. Remote colleges may have less options in that regard
I don’t know what Williams is doing, but the hotels in that area (there are a number of them) are going to be suffering with Williams having been closed this spring and likely all summer. I expect many owners would jump at the chance to have Williams pay for partial floors or the entire building for next year.
Colleges Worry They’ll Be Sued if They Reopen Campuses
https://insidehighered.com/news/2020/05/15/colleges-seek-protection-lawsuits-if-they-reopen
I received an email from St. Edwards in Austin yesterday saying that they will have F2F on-campus instruction this fall. All on-campus students will have a single and two individuals will be assigned to each bathroom. They are still taking (begging for) applications, so I assume they are able to do this because projected enrollment is low. Local news has said they are making substantial salary cuts and they have cut several sports teams for next year including soccer which was of great interest to my S22. Just thought I’d share since they seem to be pretty firm in their commitment for in-person education this fall. And I truly hope they make it, it’s really a terrific school and a great option for those that don’t make the cut for UT, but want to be in Austin.
A couple of interesting points in the insidehighered article.
First: Pneumonia shots. Interesting.
Second: It is University of California at San Diego that is doing the testing, NOT University of San Diego. It is a common mistake but you would think Inside Higher Ed would get it right. https://ucsdnews.ucsd.edu/pressrelease/introducing-the-uc-san-diego-return-to-learn-program
Latest update from DS19’s school here in Ontario. Still no word on what classes will look like in September but they are starting to move towards resuming research activities.
Bowdoin virtual town hall wrap up -
Seemed pretty optimistic kids will be back on campus. The discussion was all about the “how” to return to campus not “if”.
Task force leaders reviewed the options they will present to the president and the board. No definite decision until mid-June.
Leaning towards going back a little early and having students return home at Thanksgiving. They would have maybe a week’s worth of class and then finals from home. This seems to be something a lot of schools are considering now.
Two options for class. (1) semester broken into two seven week sections with kids taking two classes each time. One would be in person and the other would be mostly online but not entirely. or (2) full regular semester with four classes, two in-person and two mostly online. They gave a few reasons why not all classes would be in person. First, they think it’s important to lower the exposure of each student to other students. If students only go to fewer in-person classes that means they will be spending time in a classroom with fewer kids total. Also, Bowdoin does not have big classroom sizes and very few classrooms to have 20-25 kids social distance so classes have to be more like 10-12 kids. With classes so small, they can’t schedule four in-person classes for everyone. There’s not enough hours in the week to find classrooms for all of those classes.
Sports are TBD. The athletic director said nothing has been decided and NESCACs are discussing. Made it sound like some sports would happen somehow but “not look the same”.
They’e ruled out Jan start. Just think that’s kicking the decision down the road. Think it’s better to face the future with the virus now since it’s not a one semester problem. Having the students home for two months between semesters will give them a chance to reassess how things are going and discuss best practices with other schools. Also, they thought winter, summer, fall, winter semesters all in a row without break wasn’t a good idea from a stress/workload situation for students or for faculty.
Talked a bit about housing. Didn’t get into details but made it sound like everyone would need their own bedroom (which in some cases might not be an official “single” since many of the rooms are set up with common rooms and bedrooms on each side). Made it sounds like they could work that out. As for social distancing rules, they weren’t ready to say what those would look like but masks would of course be part of the deal and they’d have to figure out the flow for buildings including the gyms and library, etc. Made it abundantly clear and, for this to work, everyone will have to play by the rules - it’s a shared sacrifice in order to be on campus.
Research will be plentiful. Lots of options. Plenty of space for students and faculty to continue or start research.
Next week, they will send out a Covid-19 leave of absence policy for current students. Supposedly it’s not punitive. They felt like they needed a special policy because they don’t have any leave policy right now that fits what’s happening. Not many gap years have been requested. They will see what happens after the fall decision is made. They will not limit them but, if there are “too many”, they might need to put some sort of restrictions on what gap years look like. (No idea what they means. I have a hard time believing that they would make kids re-apply.)
Decision will be made in mid-June. Kids will then do housing and choose classes (both of these have been pushed out from spring).
Editing to add: They feel good about testing. Been working with local hospitals and believe testing is getting better all of the time and should be where it needs to be for August. Faster, cheaper, and plentiful.
“They’e ruled out Jan start. Just think that’s kicking the decision down the road. Think it’s better to face the future with the virus now since it’s not a one semester problem. Having the students home for two months between semesters will give them a chance to reassess how things are going and discuss best practices with other schools”
Sounds like very sound and well thought out reasoning. Kicking the can to January - which is most likely to be in the midst of a “second wave” (if that happens) seems to be faulty thinking, so glad they put that out there.
@suzyQ7 They also mentioned that starting in Jan would coincide with flu season. Best to get procedures in place for fall and let kids get used to them before heading into winter. They also sort of insinuated that it will be even harder in the winter to follow the rules since it’s cold in Maine and, for fall, kids could still be outside a lot and it will likely be easier to social distance. They didn’t flat out say that winter will be harder but, of course, we can all assume that since eating or socializing outside where it’s safer won’t be as much of an option.
That being said, D21 and I visited S19 in Feb this year and it was pretty nice and we spent a lot of time outside!
I wonder if anyone would summarize the current situation at most colleges. I was reading this thread but I found it too depressing. (I have cried sometimes thinking about what my son and all the kids are missing–graduations, proms, etc, college visits and overnight stays to help inform college choices, and a normal college experience as well as so much more).
Are most colleges still up on the air? Are they planning to have students on campus in the fall or online or mixture? Are there general regional differences in what is planned?
Are many students here and that you know going to defer a year? What are they going to spend their time doing?
Are you worried about the safety of your children this coming year if they are planning to go to college on campus?
Our son was leaning to defer and now wants to go. I don’t know what is best for him but I feel quit sad about what he has and is missing. We learned his graduation will take place and it is such a far distance from what a normal graduation would be that I feel sad when I think of it, not happy. I want him to go to college and spread his wings and meet people and socialize and fall in love (if that’s in the cards) and be able to sit with friends without worry of disease the way all of us adults could do when we were their age.
Thank you for any replies.
quote=“homerdog;c-22811713” full regular semester with four classes, two in-person and two mostly online. They gave a few reasons why not all classes would be in person. First, they think it’s important to lower the exposure of each student to other students. If students only go to fewer in-person classes that means they will be spending time in a classroom with fewer kids total. Also, Bowdoin does not have big classroom sizes and very few classrooms to have 20-25 kids social distance so classes have to be more like 10-12 kids. With classes so small, they can’t schedule four in-person classes for everyone. There’s not enough hours in the week to find classrooms for all of those classes.
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In this scheme, would specific courses be online-only, or would half of the students in each course be required to take it online?
What if a student chose four lab / art courses that would be difficult to do online?
From what I have seen, its something of a mix. Some schools are announcing Fall plans and others are still trying to figure out what those plans will be. Check with particular schools you are interested in or are applicable to you. But one thing to keep in mind is the saying: “life is what happens while you are making plans.” We don’t know what the next 3 months will look like (may well vary by state/region/city). And what will happen after Fall sessions start (no matter what the approach unless I suppose its 100% online). So college plans may change.
I am happy my daughter is home. But thats from my perspective selfishly. Its like bonus time I never thought I would get. But I feel bad for her because she should be at school with her friends and not holed up with her parents. She has off campus apartment lined up in the fall. Hope she is able to go back even if she is taking online classes. Has a lab and some research it would be nice to see her finish.
@ucbalumnus they are saying half of students’ classes would be “mostly” online and not have a regular meeting time. If a class is in person then it’s in person for all. And the online ones are online for all. Maybe I’m not being clear Lol. When S19 registers, he will register for either one online and on in person class or two online and two in person classes depending on what semester system they choose.
And they are still determining which classes to offer. Need to prioritize classes that juniors and seniors need to complete majors, etc. They don’t have a class list ready and will work on that to match whichever path they take. Advisors will be helping kids decide how best to choose class this year. Highly doubt anyone ever takes four art classes in one semester. They thought lab classes could be run
It sounded like they thought having two classes per seven weeks would be easier for the college to offer everyone what they would need
They are talking with faculty and deciding which kinds of classes could be run well online. Those would be online. Those that they think could not translate as well online will be taught in person
As perspective my daughters virtual graduation is tomorrow
Prerecorded. Agh… She is going to be with her core group of friends and make a brunch and mimosas. They have really been social distancing and taking this all more seriously then I expected. They are all living in apartments or a few people to a house with separate bedrooms on campus. Campus is a ghost town (normally a sleepy town but not like this). She’s happy and healthy and safe . That’s all I can ask for.
@Knowsstuff aw. These seniors need to find ways to celebrate for sure. Hope she has fun!
Hmm not many gap years have been requested… Is this a psychological play or reality? If you don’t think others are asking for gap years then you would feel better to send your kids and not ask for one. If they said 55 % want gap years then one might feel different sending their child. I am sure they are being honest but it’s just interesting to me.
@Knowsstuff I think very few kids at any school have asked for gap years yet because colleges haven’t released their plans yet. Once fall plans are in stone, then we know what their choices are.